Last week I took advantage of a 40% off promotion to try the new brand Crane & Lion. I was really drawn to the soft color palette and some of the details in the pieces. I ordered the Original Tights, Sports Bra, and Long Sleeve Tee.
Ordering, Shipping, and Returns
Per the website’s suggestion, I purchased two sizes of the tights and bra because I was unsure of sizing. That qualified me for free shipping. My order shipped at midnight the night I placed the order, and I received the package in three business days. The package included a prepaid label for returns.
Logo and Logo Placement
A company’s logo and its placement on the item are really important to me. I won't buy Under Armour products because the logo is big, ugly, and masculine, none of which are things I want to be associated with. I like Lululemon and Athleta’s logos, which are small and artsy, though I will not buy some products if the logos are in odd places. Well, I LOVE Crane & Lion’s logo! It's the symbol used in place of an "&" in their name, and it's raised instead of printed on the fabric. It's silver, has glitter in it, and is small. In short, it’s everything I love about logos—pretty, feminine, small, and artsy!
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| Crane & Lion raised logo |
Original Tights
I love greys and purples, and the Quicksilver color I ordered in the tights is a gorgeous, light purple/grey color. I really love the printed fabric inside the waistline too. I don’t love the placement of the logo on the bottom of the leg, even though more and more brands are placing logos there. But the C&L logo is inconspicuous enough that I don’t mind it too much.
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| Printed fabric inside the waistband of the Original Tights |
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| Logo is on the back bottom of the left leg |
The fabric itself is extremely stretchy but not soft at all. I think the fabric may be the least soft of all the legging fabrics I have (even some of my Fabletics leggings are much softer.) I found the very light Quicksilver color to be opaque, but the fabric itself is very thin, so even though you couldn’t see the color of my panties, you could see every lump and bump. Crane & Lion also makes a lightweight version of their tights, but I can’t imagine how it could be thinner!
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| Original Tights in Quicksilver |
The angled seam on the butt and vertical seam down the back of the leg are very flattering.
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| Angled seam on back of Original Tights |
I bought the tights in sizes 6 and 8 and tried the 6 on first. I had to look at the tag because they felt like an 8. They weren’t outright loose on me, but there was zero compression. Between the very thin fabric and the lack of compression, it felt like I wasn’t wearing anything. I knew the size 8 would be way too big, so I didn’t even try them on.
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Just standing and moving around created a lot of wrinkles from the
loose fabric. |
While I loved the color and the seam details on the back, I didn’t like the lack of compression and the thinness of the fabric, so I’m unfortunately returning these tights. If you are looking for a light-as-air feeling in a legging, these might work for you. Make sure to size down, though.
Sports Bra
I also loved the light purple Nirvana color of the Sports Bra. The pretty printed fabric was on the inside of the bra too. The logo placement was perfect. The fabric felt nearly identical to the Luxtreme in Lululemon’s Energy and All Sport Bras. It comes with removable bra cups.
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| Back of the Sports Bra showing inside fabric |
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| The removable bra cup |
I ordered a size 6 and 8 and tried on the 8 first. I wear a size 8 in Lululemon’s Energy and All Sport Bras. The Crane & Lion Sports Bra in size 8 was huge on me! The band fit well, but everything else was very big. There was a big gap on the sides. Also, I could not smooth out the bra cups to get rid of wrinkles and lumps for the life of me.
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| A lot of gap on the sides and lumps and bumps from the bra cups |
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| Here you can even see that the straps of the size 8 are loose. |
Next I tried on the 6. The band was very tight and hard to get off once I had it on. The band is much tighter than a Lulu Energy or All Sport Bra. However, the rest of the fit was nearly identical to an Energy or All Sport Bra. The support was also about the same. The bra looked to be high coverage on the website, but I found it to be a little less coverage than the Energy or All Sport Bra. Again, the bra cups were hard to smooth out to get the wrinkles and bumps to keep from showing. Despite that, I really liked the bra, but the band was just too tight for me, and I’d worry it would become uncomfortable. So, I’m also returning the bra. If you looking for a bra similar to the Energy or All Sport bra but with a tighter band, this bra might work for you. Just size down.
Long Sleeve Tee
The last thing I ordered was the Long Sleeve Tee in white. I wear white a lot, so I thought this would be a good basic. The logo is placed on the front bottom, a placement I don’t love, but again the logo itself is so inconspicuous, I didn’t mind it.
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| Logos is placed on the bottom front left of the Long Sleeve Tee |
The fabric has cotton in it and felt like cotton, and it came out of the package super wrinkly.
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| Back of the Long Sleeve Tee |
I only ordered it in size 8 since I like to size up in long sleeve tops like this. I didn’t love the fit. It was tight at my hips and looser in the waist, which doesn’t flatter my figure. I think this top would be better with women who have more straight instead of curvy figures.
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| Front of Love Sleeve Tee. Meh. |
I loved the ruching detail on the back, but in person it just looked like a bunch of wrinkles.
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| Long Sleeve Tee back |
I knew it would likely be impossible to keep the top wrinkle-free, so between the wrinkles and the fit, I also decided to return this top.
I am so bummed! I was so excited to try these pieces, and there is lots I love—the logo, pretty purple and grey color palette, and feminine details. But I have so many fitness clothes already that I can’t keep something if I don’t totally love it, and unfortunately none of these pieces really worked for me. Labels: crane & lion, fit fashion, Fit Review
